After more than two decades of debate over Gloucestershire's notorious A417 missing link could a solution finally be in sight?

The Government's Highways Agency is set to publish three possible options in September, it was reported on BBC Radio Gloucestershire today.

But the preferred option does not seem to address the fundamental problem of the single carriageway on the A417 at the Nettleton Bottom pinchpoint.

Previously it was mooted that the only solution would be a tunnel for traffic from the Cowley roundabout to the bottom of the hill at Brockworth although this would be hugely expensive.

According to Cotswold MP, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the preferred Government option is a "cut and cover" tunnel to cover over the Air Balloon roundabout.

Mr Clifton-Brown told BBC Radio Gloucestershire's Mark Cummings breakfast show that it would provide a sort of green bridge over the roundabout making it more environmentally friendly for wildlife and humans.

The original brown route which would have involved a huge cutting into the countryside was no longer preferred.

Whatever solution is proposed Punchline believes action is now essential to do something about this congested and dangerous route which is used by 34,000 vehicles a day. Too many lives have already been lost on this section of road.

What do you think? Email mark@moosemarketingandpr.co.uk 

Readers' comments:

Jeremy Chamberlayne: I feel that a much cheaper scheme could be based on a new Southbound carriageway, from the Air Balloon to Cowley roundabout, - .with a new Gloucester bound carriageway, filtering off the current carriageway, South of the pub and continuing on the South side of the current carriageway, to the dual carriageway. The roundabout would largely remain to service other routes.

Other details would have to be addressed, such as provision of an uphill hard shoulder and the question of the retention of the pub.

The big issue is how to accommodate traffic during construction. Accommodation of the Birdlip junction, (awful at the moment), could be difficult from the AB direction.